The Creative Change Coalition is a national coalition of place-based organizations that center people, creativity, and equity working together to create a stronger ecosystem for communities and artists.
Launched in the fall of 2023, the Creative Change Coalition is informed by and builds on Springboard’s existing national resources and experience working with other organizations across the country on locally-rooted emergency relief efforts during the pandemic. In response to the need and opportunity for a stronger network to connect local efforts to work together towards system change, the Coalition provides greater visibility for place-based, people-powered, and creativity-centered work to build solidarity towards shared research, advocacy and policy change.
Organization members have access to additional tools and support for peer network building, shared work, and piloting new ideas. The Creative Change Coalition will evolve and be informed and built by the people and organizations that engage with it. Learn more below and become a member or participant today. Visit the JOIN US page for ways to be involved.
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WHO WE ARE
Equity-Focused: Our organizations seek to create more just and equitable communities in the face of dominant systems that marginalize and extract from people on the basis of race, gender, disability, location, class, sexual orientation, religion and other identities.
Place-Based: Our organizations have a deep impact where we are AND are a critical piece of the local ecosystem that supports thriving communities.
Creativity-Centered: Our organizations work with artists (broadly defined), creative workers, and culture bearers in and of our communities because they make meaning, weave people together, and envision new paths.
People-Powered: Our organizations center the strength of practitioners and the wisdom of community members who shape the circumstances for community resilience and health.
Stronger Together: Our individual organizations are instrumental to the health of our specific communities – and collectively, we can work together to navigate and to recast the systems we need.
The Creative Change Coalition is stewarded by Springboard for the Arts. Learn more about Springboard’s mission and vision.
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How We Work Together
The Coalition is a national hub for connection:
• To ideas and peers through COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE SESSIONS featuring bold ideas by leading innovators to catalyze conversation about the field.
• To practical tools and models through TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE WORKSHOPS led by seasoned practitioners.
• To learning and resources within the RESOURCE HUB focused on practical information and sharing amongst the network.
• To system and policy change through RESEARCH and ACTION developed through peer collaboration to identify shared interests, opportunities, and gaps.
• To each other and our collective knowledge through DISCUSSION GROUPS & PEER EXCHANGE SUPPORT to share and invite solutions and strengthen our individual and organizational support systems.
To foster this connection, we ask Coalition members and participants to engage in Coalition activities with:
A Spirit of Collaboration: We seek and act from a place of mutual respect, trust, commitment, and reciprocity with all our partners. We share what we have, what we’ve learned, and our goal is to create welcoming and generous environments, both in person and virtual.
An Asset-based Lens: We have everything we need. We approach challenges as opportunities, and believe change is possible, and that change is possible from within.
We launched the Creative Change Coalition on November 16th, 2023 with the first Community of Practice session, featuring a conversation between Laura Zabel, Executive Director of Springboard for the Arts, and special guests National Endowment for the Arts Chair, Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD and NEA Design & Creative Placemaking Director, Ben Stone.
Along with our presenting team, over 180 participants from 120 organizations and 34 states were in attendance, bringing curiosity, collaboration, and a desire for community and connection to the session. Read more on Creative Exchange.
A graphic recording of the first Community of Practice session by artist Matthew Wuorinen. November, 2023.
More About the Coalition:
WHAT WE DO
Together, this coalition of local organizations seeks to:
• Increase visibility and expand momentum for “the field” – making place-based, creativity-centered work more visible, understood, supported and valued.
• Create solidarity and connection amongst peer organizations working towards shared goals.
• Consolidate existing information on practices and models to make them more accessible.
• Address gaps in information and make solutions accessible.
• Generate research to inform and advocate for local and national system change and policy priorities.
• Create new and deepen existing connections to other sectors, movements, and thinking to inform and inspire our work.
The Creative Change Coalition is a national coalition of place-based organizations who center people, creativity, and equity working together to create a stronger ecosystem for communities and artists.
What does this mean? Very broadly, we bring the following perspectives to this work:
Place
Local context and ecosystems are best positioned to know what their communities need and to be able to deliver it in a relevant and accessible way. We value and prioritize locally grown systems and solutions.
Many communities do not currently have robust or sustainable ecosystems of support for artists, creative workers, and culture bearers. We have a responsibility to share the resources we have and support the growth of these local ecosystems.
Artists, creative workers, and culture bearers:
Our definition of artist, creative workers, and culture bearers is broad: from people who weave stories and craft meaning, to those who perform and create art in public places, local artists represent different cultures, experiences, and demographics. They can engage residents, organizations, and businesses in joyful, inclusive, and strategic solutions to local issues and opportunities.
With this broad definition, this means that artists exist in every place and community, and are a powerful resource.
The initial design for the Coalition has been developed with input and feedback from the following field leaders:
Joseph Allen, Gizhiigin Arts Incubator
Mary Bordeaux, Racing Magpie
Sage Crump, National Performance Network
Deborah Cullinan, Stanford University
Jack Forinash, Blue Sky Center
Alexis Frasz, Helicon
Aviva Kapust, The Culture & Community Power Fund
Jeremy Liu, Creative Development Partners
Esther Robinson, ArtBuilt
Michael Rohd, Co-Lab for Civic Imagination / Center for Performance and Civic Practice
Omari Rush, CultureSource
Jamie (Schumacher) Kalakaru-Mava, Local Initiatives Support Corporation- Twin Cities
Jason Schupbach, Drexel University- Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design
Erik Takeshita, The Culture & Community Power Fund
Margy Waller, Art on the Streets
We are also grateful to the organizations that hosted field conversations:
Arts for LA- Los Angeles County, California
Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology- Bellaire, MI
Fresh Arts- Houston, TX
Harvester Arts- Wichita, KS
Office for Public Art- Pittsburgh, PA
Pike School of Art- McComb, MS
Racing Magpie- Rapid City, SD
Sidewalk Detroit- Detroit, MI
The Coalition’s design has also been inspired by other network and movement organizations including the Economic Security Project, Equitable Food Oriented Development Collaborative and the New Economy Coalition.
The Creative Change Coalition is stewarded by Springboard for the Arts with support from the Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.
